Automatic washers for cleaning the hands and arms of personnel such as doctors, nurses, and restaurant workers, have been developed. Such washers are known as lavage machines. These machines typically include an arrangement of nozzles, within a sealed cabinet for directing a pressurized mixture of water, cleaning solution and anti-microbial agent onto the arms and hands inserted into the machine. The particular cleaning solution which is used varies in accordance with the application, and such machines range from relatively simple devices to multiple cycle machines incorporating washing cycles, rinsing cycles and drying cycles.
One problem which exists with such machines is in the area of the entry holes or apertures through which the hands and arms of the user are inserted. Obviously, openings of sufficient size to permit the insertion of hands and arms are necessary in the front or top panel of such a machine. When the machine is operating, in either a washing or rinsing cycle, a substantial amount of liquid is splashed around within the machine. It is desirable to prevent this liquid from splashing out through the openings around the arms of the person using the machine. Since these machines also are used to produce a germ free or bacteria free cleansing of the hands and arms, the opening must be large enough; so that the clean and sterilized hands and arms can be withdrawn from the machine without touching the edge of the opening, which typically is not free of germs and bacteria.
A lavage machine which has been designed to prevent the cleaning solution and water within the machine from splashing out of the machine is disclosed in the patent to Vetter #4,688,585. This machine has two generally circular openings for insertion of the arms of the user into the machine. Each of these openings is surrounded with an elongated elastic sleeve attached around the opening and which extends into the machine. The sleeve presses against the arm of the person using the machine, and pressurized air is applied to the machine interior further to press the elastic material of the sleeve onto the arm. As a result, when the machine is operated to clean the hands of the person using it, an effective water tight seal is formed around the arms of the person to prevent water from splashing out through the openings. A difficulty arises in this machine, however, since upon withdrawal of the arms, the hands can come into contact with the sleeve (which presses against a portion of the arm not cleaned within the machine) and thus can become contaminated. As a result, the sleeve performs the function of preventing liquid from splashing out of the machine but also is capable of recontaminating the hands of the user immediately following cleansing and sterilization. This is a serious disadvantage of the device disclosed in this patent.
Another patent disclosing a lavage machine for hand and arm washing machine is the patent to Kopfer #3,918,987. In this patent, there is no seal whatsoever in the opening into which the arm is inserted, so that some fluid can splash out through the space between the arm and the edges of the opening during the operation of the machine.
A device for providing a pressure resisting seal for a variety of purposes, such as respirators, is disclosed in the Patent to Hopkins #3,450,450. The structure of this patent has a plurality of flexible closure members attached side-by-side around an aperture in the enclosure to press against an object inserted through the closure members. Essentially they extend to fill the space in the aperture completely and are displaced when an object such an arm, torso or the like is inserted through them. Pressurized air within the enclosure then presses the members against an object inserted through the aperture to prevent the pressurized air within the device from passing outwardly. It is readily apparent, however, from an examination of the various structures disclosed in this patent, that upon removal of the object from the device, contact is made with the closure members. Thus, these structures are not suitable for use in a lavage machine where the cleansed and sterilized arm and hand must be withdrawn without coming into contact with any contaminated surface.
Four patents which disclose flexible, inflatable seals for sealing doors or lids against a frame or a container, are the patents to Reeves #2,785,824; Clark #3,178,779; Stachiw #3,266,657 and Hunt #4,106,661. In all of these patents, an inflatable seal surrounds the opening between a door or lid and a frame or container. When the door or lid is closed, the seal is inflated to expand into the space between the door or lid and the container or frame with which it is used, thereby tightly sealing the opening. The distance that the inflatable seal moves is relatively small in all of the devices disclosed in these patents, since the covers or doors close the openings within relatively close tolerances. Consequently, only a slight movement of the seal or a slight expansion of it is sufficient to securely close the opening and seal it off. None of the devices of these patents are lavage machines or hand washing machines.
It is desirable to provide a closure for the hand and arm entry openings in a lavage machine which effectively prevents liquid from splashing out of the machine during the washing operation and which also is withdrawn or pulled away from the opening a sufficient amount to permit withdrawal of the clean arms and hands from the machine without touching the closure or the opening following the washing cycle. It further is desirable to provide such a device which is capable of quickly and effectively accomplishing this purpose with persons having differing physical measurements.